113th’s New Commanding Officer Meets With CB 12

The new commanding officer of Southeast Queens’ 113th Precinct dropped by Community Board 12’s monthly meeting on Wednesday to introduce himself and discuss his philosophy on how to run a precinct.

Jerry O’Sullivan

Deputy Inspector Jerry O’Sullivan, who is the new commanding officer for told the board that he was looking forward to serving the community. The 25 year-veteran of the city Police Department was assigned to the Southeast Queens precinct three weeks ago.

O’Sullivan said that he previously served in the Bronx and Manhattan. As an officer, he served in the 52nd Precinct in the Bronx, which is where he was raised.

“This was in the early 1990s,” O’Sullivan said. “It was a very different city back then, but part of what they had back then was community policing. The department, unfortunately, changed over the years, but that has changed in the last three years.”

The 113th Precinct was one of the first Queens precincts to bring back the policing method back in 2015. It has since been initiated in the 103rd, 100th and 101st precincts, and is scheduled to begin at the 116th Precinct upon its opening.

He explained that attending community meetings has always been a part of his way of getting to know the communities he covers. He said that this method has always led to successful relationships and added that he maintains the same philosophy when it comes to day-to-day police work.

“If I read about a crime, I try to make an effort to make it out there myself and see it in person,” he said. “It’s one thing to read it on paper. But if there’s a report for a crime, there’s a victim behind. And it’s important for me as a commanding officer to try my best to go there, see what happened and call the complainants up.”